Man enters guilty plea for felonious assault

A 26-year-old Celina man faces nearly two decades in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to felonious assault and two counts of endangering children.

Nathaniel C. Maddox, 225 W. Logan St., showed no emotion as Judge Jeffrey Ingraham explained the possible length of a sentence as well as fines of up to $40,000 to be imposed June 29.

The charges - two second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony - stem from incidents occurring Jan. 5 and 6 and involving a 3 1/2-year-old girl.

As part of a negotiated agreement, the state dismissed the 12 remaining charges in the indictment handed down Jan. 20. They ranged from second-degree felonies to a first-degree misdemeanor and involved the same victim identified in court records as Jane Doe I.

Maddox administered corporal punishment or other physical disciplinary measures in a cruel manner or a prolonged period of time, according to court records.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Matt Fox stated Maddox placed duct tape across the girl's mouth and around her hands. The indictment language describes the actions as torture or cruel abuse. He also explained the felonious assault charge related to the victim being struck or thrown.

Celina Police and Mercer County Children's Services were called to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater the night of Jan. 7 for a child with life-threatening injuries. Emergency room physicians stabilized the child's condition and later transferred her to Children's Medical Center in Dayton for treatment of a head injury with internal bleeding. She spent several days in the intensive care unit before being discharged into the care of her mother and grandmother.

Authorities also noted bruising and blisters on the girl's body and lower extremities. Fox indicated in court the blisters or burns likely came from frostbite.

Maddox told authorities he found the girl in a unresponsive state, and he and his mother took her to the hospital by private vehicle. He had been the child's primary caretaker since Christmas as he and the mother are separated.

He remains incarcerated at the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility on a $100,000 cash bond.